Alec Baldwin defends Woody Allen as actors back away from filmmaker

Alec Baldwin has spoken out in defense of Woody Allen as other actors, like Greta Gerwig and Rebecca Hall, expressed their regret in working with the filmmaker. Allen was accused of molesting daughter Dylan Farrow when she was a girl in 1992, a claim he has repeatedly denied.

“Woody Allen was investigated forensically by two states (NY and CT) and no charges were filed,” Baldwin tweeted on Tuesday. “The renunciation of him and his work, no doubt, has some purpose. But it’s unfair and sad to me. I worked w WA 3 times and it was one of the privileges of my career.”

Baldwin, who featured in films like Allen’s Blue Jasmine and To Rome With Love, continued in response to a user on Twitter, “WA’s talent has nothing to do with it. This is a charge that was investigated aggressively and resulted in…nothing. What would it take for you to at least consider that he is telling the truth?”

“Is it possible to support survivors of pedophilia and sexual assault/abuse and also believe that WA is innocent? I think so,” he added. “The intention is not to dismiss or ignore such complaints. But accusing ppl of such crimes should be treated carefully. On behalf of the victims, as well.”

Farrow has long maintained that Allen abused her — a claim she repeated in a 2017 op-ed published in The Los Angeles Times — though the director has never been convicted of a crime.

“Of course, I did not molest Dylan,” Allen wrote in a piece published in The New York Times in 2014. While Allen called his 2014 piece his “final word” on the matter, the controversy has resurfaced in the wake of the Me Too movement. Farrow’s L.A. Times essay called out actors like Kate Winslet, Blake Lively, and Gerwig for refusing to denounce the filmmaker over her claims.

A representative for Allen said in a statement regarding the essay, “Dylan Farrow’s allegations against Woody Allen, which she first made 25 years ago, have been thoroughly examined by law enforcement officials and child welfare investigators. The investigators concluded unambiguously that Dylan Farrow was not sexually abused. No charges were ever filed, and the reason is simple: because Woody Allen is innocent.”

Since then, Gerwig (who worked with Allen on To Rome With Love), Hall (A Rainy Day In New York), David Krumholtz (Wonder Wheel), and Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite) have all apologized for working with Allen. Previously, Ellen Page (To Rome With Love) and The Tick actor Griffin Newman (A Rainy Day in New York) also publicly backed away from their collaborations with Allen.

When a fan on social media demanded that Baldwin apologize for working with Allen after Farrow’s open letter in The Times in 2014, the actor refused. In a now-deleted tweet, Baldwin responded, “What the f— is wrong w u that u think we all need to b commenting on this family’s personal struggle?”

On Tuesday, Timothée Chalamet didn’t get into detail on Allen “because of contractual obligations,” but he did pledge his salary from working on A Rainy Day In New York to the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, RAINN (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network), and The LGBT Center in New York.

“I don’t want to profit from my work on the film,” he wrote in a statement released on Instagram. He added, “I want to be worthy of standing shoulder to shoulder with the brave artists who are fighting for all people to be treated with the respect and dignity they deserve.”

This article was updated to include Baldwin’s third tweet.